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Rationality
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Rationality is a notion at the heart of both economics and business research. In their descriptive models, economists postulate that people behave rationally; and, in their normative models, many consultants and academics insist that business people ought to make rational decisions. But rationality is not an unambiguous concept, and it is certainly not uncontested as an economic postulate or a business goal. In this entry, a discussion of the meanings of rationality in economics is analysed in order to provide a framework for understanding the uses of – and limits to – the concept.
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Rationality is the habit of acting by reason, which means in accordance with the facts of reality. The only alternative is acting by whim, which because reality is absolute, will result in undesired consequences. This is because an action based on a belief in a particular cause-effect relationship will not occur if that relationship is invalid.
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The question of Islam and Rationality has the greatest significance for revivifying Muslim societies to ensure their future relevance and viability as a world force for stability, peace, and material and spiritual growth. What are the epistemic and metaphysical bases of Islams religious, scientific and intellectual traditions and their consequences for rationality? What is the relation of these teachings to the rise of modernity, as well as the impact of the Islamic tradition upon the present? How may the new understandings and disciplines known today inform the Islamic tradition, and how may Muslims contribute to these new realizations?
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Unlike many philosophical tracts, Rationality in Action invites the reader to apply the author's ideas to everyday life. Searle shows, for example, that contrary to the traditional philosophical view, weakness of will is very common. He ... points out the absurdity of the claim that rational decision making always starts from a consistent set of desires. Rational decision making, he argues, is often about choosing between conflicting reasons for action. In fact, humans are distinguished by their ability to be rationally motivated by desire-independent reasons for action. Extending his theory of rationality to the self, Searle shows how rational deliberation presupposes an irreducible notion of the self.
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Rationality requires explanations for claims. With explanations, the truth can be produced. Without explanations, the subject ends. Instead of explanations, the carbon dioxide fraud is promoted on the authority of the IPCC, which is nothing but a bunch of political hacks with an agenda.
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Rationality as a term is related to the idea of reason, a word which following Webster's may be derived as much from older terms referring to thinking itself as from giving an account or an explanation. This lends the term a dual aspect. One aspect associates it with comprehension, intelligence, or inference, particularly when an inference is drawn in ordered ways (... a syllogism is a rational argument in this sense). The other part associates rationality with explanation, understanding or justification, particularly if it provides a ground or a motive. 'Irrational', therefore, is defined as that which is not endowed with reason or understanding.
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